5 Proven Tips For Exercise And Fitness Motivation

A Guest Submission Written By Tammy Redd

​If you have the talent, you only need one other thing to become successful in sports—discipline. Even people who have no intentions of competing at a professional level need to learn how to stick to their program. The Fit and Tone previously emphasized how discipline will help get yourself out of bed in the morning. It’s what’s going to get you in your gym clothes, through the door and one step closer to your fitness goals.

Much like sports or a fitness program, discipline also requires training. Here’s how you can practice it every day so you can achieve anything you set your mind to.

Set Specific Goals And Create A Program

What’s the first thing a trainer asks you when you sign up for a gym membership? ‘What’s your fitness goal?’ Every person who starts working out has a personal goal that they’re aiming for, whether it’s to lose 10 pounds, do 10 pull-ups in a row, or feel more confident in their skin. Once you identify the things you want to get out of exercising, it’s much easier to customize a program around your specific needs.

Let’s look at an example. British boxing phenomenon Nicola Adams had a talk with Balance about what it’s like to be in her shoes. For five days a week, she goes for a run in the morning, lifts weights before noon and spends her afternoons boxing. That’s three hard sessions of training in a single day, which is what’s required of an Olympic Athlete such as herself. In 2012, Coral states that Adams was the first woman boxerto win an Olympic gold in boxing, a title she defended at the next Games. If your goal is to become a professional boxer, then you would need to create program similar to Adams. If it’s to run a marathon, then it would consist of miles on the road and cross training. Every person has a different objective. Establish your own and use that as your springboard to success. ​

​Find A Partner

One thing that’s worked for many people is finding a training buddy. It's a fact that sometimes it’s really tough to get yourself to follow through, and having someone to push you to do the work can do the trick. It makes you more accountable to stick to your training plan and keep up with your workout partner. Plus, it’s more fun to see that you’re not the only one sweating buckets.

On several occasions, the now-LA Lakers shooting guard expressed that Jordan was his inspiration. At 33, James has already earned the unofficial title of greatest player of all time and is an inspiration to many. Look for an athlete, an Instagram personality, or maybe just someone you know who motivates you to do the work; it’s a very effective method of staying on top of your journey.

Track Your Progress

Aside from external motivators, the one person that can truly motivate you is yourself. Track your progress with an app or a simple notebook so you can see how far you’ve come and how far you still have to go. In order to be successful, athletes have to monitor their performance. Similarly, you can glean insights from your records that you can apply to your workouts. For instance, you might find that it’s harder to run a 10K if you’ve maximized your leg training the previous day. Tracking your progress will also keep you determined to push further especially when you’ve hit a slump in your fitness journey. ​

Rest, Recover, And Reward

Even the most disciplined people allow themselves to rest and let go every once in a while. If you push hard every single day, you might get burnt out easily. Worse, you might even get injured and that can hinder or even undo what you’ve worked hard for. Olympic Gold medalist Lindsey Vonn knows this all too well. The four-time World Cup champion in alpine skiing has had several career-threatening injuries over the years from broken bones to torn ligaments. Now, Vonn says that she’s learned how to train smarter by giving her body ample time to heal itself. She makes sure to get 10 hours of sleep every night as people who live highly active lifestyles need to refuel energy sources by sleeping longer. Make sure you reward your body with rest to avoid damaging your body or feeling so overworked that you abandon your fitness journey.